Work-Study Employers
Promote your jobs
All CU Boulder students have access to a searchable job database in Handshake where employers can post work-study jobs. Make sure work-study jobs you post are within the pay range for the specific student job classification, code and title.
How to get started
On-campus:Create an employer account with Career Services
Off-campus: You should get an email from workstudy@colorado.edu with a link to create an employer account to post work-study jobs
Email Career Services at studentemployment@colorado.edu for support with posting your jobs in Handshake.
Ready to hire?
Employers should reference this section when hiring a work-study student. Please remove your job postings when positions are filled or if you're no longer hiring.
Off campus
Step 1: Email the following information to workstudy@colorado.edu:
- Copy of job posting, including:
- Job description
- Location
- Pay rate
- Dates: when position was posted/removed & expected start date
- Copy of offer letter (if used)
According to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, you must keep a copy of the original job post for each student while they're employed and for an additional two years after.
Step 2: Students will get an email from us with onboarding tasks they must do before they're officially employed.
Step 3: We'll send you a work-study eligibility form once the student completes all required tasks and can begin earning work-study.
On campus
Mark jobs as work-study in the payroll system
Enter an Effective Date in the CU Work Study Indicator section. The effective date is the first day of hire. Employees can only have a work-study indicator if they are in an active employment status and in an eligible job code (4101-4104) on the effective date entered. If you did not enter the Date in the Work-study Indicator Section at the time of hire you can still mark the job for work-study.
CU Boulder's Equal Opportunity policy: Interview potential hires, and accept or reject qualified work-study student applicants without regard to race, religion, age, sex, disability, creed or national origin.
Students enrolled at another campus: Employers can hire work-study students enrolled at one of the other three campuses: University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver or University of Colorado Anschutz. These students will pay into student retirement. You'll follow the same hiring process as you would for a CU Boulder student.
Discuss expectations:
- How much they can work each week to earn all of their work-study while staying within university policy for max work hours.
Use the example below to help determine how many hours a week a student can work based on their work-study
$2,500 total fall work-study
$16.82 student pay rate
148.63
18 weeks 8.25 hours a week
- Submit a work-study increase request as soon as you know your student will work more than their current work-study allows.
- Work-study funds cannot pay overtime, jury duty or sick leave.
- Must submit timesheets on time (see due dates).
Failure to meet the following requirements could result in contract termination. Employers should thouroughly review their Off-Campus Work-Study Contract Agreement before signing.
- Ensure work-study employees are not paid more than other student employees when both are performing identical job duties
- Request approval from our office for a student to work beyond what their work-study will fund (employer pays 100% of wage plus fees)
- Email workstudy@colorado.edu to complete an hourly eligibility form
- Pay monthly invoices on time (45-day grace period)
- Furnish adequate supervision
- Positions meet university pay ranges
How students are paid
CU Boulder pays student employees every two weeks and bills employers each month for their portion of the student’s pay rate.
Timesheets
- Students send timesheets to their supervisor for approval every two weeks.
- Both the supervisor and student must approve each timesheet.
- On-campus employers follow the approval process in the university payroll system (HCM) or your department's payroll process.
- Off-campus employers email completed timesheets to workstudy@colorado.edu before the time collection date.
- Students are paid for hours worked, not hours they anticipate working.
- Keep timesheets for a minimum of 3 years (5 years recommended)
Sick time
Students will have one combined total of sick leave to use regardless of where it was accrued. Work-study doesn’t pay sick leave. Employers pay 100% of a student's pay for hours reported as sick or family leave.
HR has more information about student sick leave. Click the expander for Sick, then click All Other Employees Paid Hourly (including temps, student employees).
Direct deposit
Students should set up direct deposit for paychecks to get paid promptly.
Pay ranges & promotions
Employers must pay students a rate that's within the pay range for their job classification. Review the information about job titles, codes, classifications, pay ranges and options for promotions/raises on our main work-study webpage.
Your portion of the student's paycheck
30% wages
1.5% benefits charge (updates annually)
Total employer pays: 31.5%
40% wages
10% administrative fee
1.5% benefits charge (updates annually)
Total employer pays: 51.5%
Monitor work-study
Track hours worked each semester so students don’t earn more than their work-study amount will fund. Employers pay 100% of the student's pay rate for hours worked beyond their work-study limit.
Campus Solutions
On-campus employers can track their students’ eligibility, earnings and remaining work-study in Campus Solutions. For help navigating, use our work-study employer view guide. Off-campus employers typically don't have access to Campus Solutions.
Follow the steps below to request access. You’ll get an email once your request is processed.
Step 1: Complete required trainings
There are two trainings before you get access to the request form. Follow instructions from the Office of the Registrar.
Step 2: Open the CU-SIS access request form
- Find Request Type and select that you’re a new user or updating access
- Find System Access Requested and select Campus Solutions
- In the Access Justification, write, “Requesting access to Work Study Employer View”
- Approvals
- If you’re requesting access for yourself, approve the terms and conditions and click Submit Form to Supervisor
- If you’re requesting access for someone else:
- Find Supervisor/Sponsor Decision and select the radial box for your approval
- For Signature, enter the supervisor’s name who needs access
- For the campus/model related to the access request, enter Financial Aid
- Submit Form for User Acceptance
Balance sheets
We have balance sheets in the Employer Forms section to help you anticipate and track your student's remaining work-study.
Student retirement program
All CU student employees are automatically enrolled in a retirement plan if they either: work 40 or more hours a week or are enrolled in less than 6 credit hours (undergraduates) or 3 credit hours (graduate students). Graduate students enrolled in only 1 credit hour to complete a thesis or dissertation are exempt unless working 40 or more hours a week.
End of employment
Here's what you need to do if your work-study student is fired/laid off or quits.
On-campus employers will work with their HR liaison.
Off-campus employers need to email the student's name and last day they'll work for you to workstudy@colorado.edu. Make sure the student approves and email us their final timesheet.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
If your student wants you to discuss their work-study with our office, they'll need to set up a Security Passphrase to comply with FERPA.
FERPA is a federal law and comes with strict rules schools must follow.
- Protects the privacy of educational records
- Establishes the right of students to inspect and review their education records
- Provides guidelines for the protection of inaccurate and misleading data through informal and formal hearings
Reach out with questions
- Work-study employers may call 303-492-7349 or email workstudy@colorado.edu for assistance.
- If your students have questions about work-study, please have them contact our office.
- If you or your student have questions about student jobs unrelated to work-study, please email Career Services at studentemployment@colorado.edu.